Norway’s King Harald has died aged 89, the palace said on Friday, with his son, 53-year-old Crown Prince Haakon, automatically succeeding him as King Haakon VIII.
“It is with deep sadness that we announce that His Majesty King Harald passed away today… at Oslo University Hospital on Friday, August 28 at 6:35 am,” the palace said in a statement. The flag at the royal palace in Oslo was lowered to half-mast.
Europe’s oldest reigning monarch had been hospitalised in Oslo since August 17 with haemolytic anaemia, a condition that causes fatigue and shortness of breath. His condition was declared “extremely serious” on Thursday, with Queen Sonja, Haakon, his wife Mette-Marit and their children keeping vigil at his bedside overnight.
Crowds gathered outside the palace for a second day, laying flowers. Harald ascended the throne in 1991 and had ruled out abdicating despite recent health struggles, citing his lifelong oath before parliament.
